GRADING
DANCE ACTIVITIES FOR TOBY
The graded activities are adapted from Levy (1995) and Payne (1990). The therapist
chooses music appropriate to the activity. The activities are graded with increasing
complexity.
Level One:
- while lying on the floor, tense every muscle, and then release
- move one individual body part cued by therapist
- on signal push on floor, wall, etc.
- inhale and yawn, then make a slight sound, then exhale noisily
- explore the movement of various fabrics in space
- sit on floor, rock back and forth and freeze when the music stops (balance)
- clench fist to count of 5 and relax
Level Two:
- use different ways of travelling to rhythm
- spin at low, middle and high level (Toby decides how)
- inhale deeply and hum (ex. mee, mae, mah, moe, moo), and then pair with action
- improvise on various balances and sustain
- walk around room very slowly and hold position when music ceases (balance)
- create spiral movements from high to low
- march using various rhythms and combinations of arms and legs
- alling activity (into each other's arms from knees) to develop trust
Level Three:
- brainstorm for silly ways of walking and try each other's ideas
- use 3 sounds and improvise a rhythm from them
- brainstorm for shapes and make them on the floor
- mirror the movement of other person and then switch
- on cue, make self shape of various objects
- draw gradually larger shapes in the air with arm, leg, head
- after vigorous activity, feel heartbeat and clap and stamp its rhythm
- complete balance activity with verbal cues while blindfolded
- move like a rag doll, action figure, snowman, etc.
Level Four:
- therapist expresses emotion with motion and child imitates and vice versa
- mime a kitten hunting a grasshopper, then a tiger hunting a deer, etc.
- make a mask and then use movement to express the person the mask is
- reenact favorite moment with props, then funniest, funnest, saddest, etc.
- move as though a leaf falling from a tree
- mime cue words: "fear," "joy," "sadness," "excitement"
- respond to a picture with motion
- take turns being a shape, and other interprets if space should be entered
- pick from a set of pictures one to express, other person guesses
The activity difficulty may increase within each session as well as the entire
treatment process. The activities are graded according to the following
characteristics:
- structured to unstructured
- imitation to reaction to expression
- an easy skill to a more difficult skill
- concrete images to abstract images
To go back to the Pediatric Case Study - Toby please click here:
Toby